Christmas Trees Pulled From Washington's Sea-Tac Airport Following Complaint

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I’m wondering if the Port of Seattle refrained from putting up a Menorah in order to set the stage for a legal claim that a Christmas Tree is NOT a religious symbol. If they asceeded to the Rabbi’s demand that a large menorah (an undeniably religious symbol) be put up, then it opens up the floodgates for every religion, no matter how small, to make similar demands.

Does the White House still light a Christmas Tree every year? Where does this end? Soon we will end up with no cultural traditions other than the Super Bowl and other such secular events. I seriously doubt that the founding fathers intended for us to deny our history, traditions, and heritage when they wrote the Constitution guaranteeing freedom to worship. I seriously doubt that the erection of a decorated Christmas tree in an airport means that the government is establishing religion!
 
Karin said:
that would mean a menorah too would be displayed otherwise we end up with what we currently have in SEA…a Rabbi going ballistic becuase there is no Menorah to celebrate teh Jewish holiday that falls two weeks before Christmas!
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So, let him go ballistic…Christmas is a national holiday. To take the symbols of Christmas out of the holiday is like taking american flags out of the fourth of july.

BTW, the Rabi has since recanted his position and would like to see the trees re-installed with any further threat of lawsuit.
 
VociMike said:
No, it’s not that Christians shouldn’t be upset, it’s that even more than Christians should be upset (and I’m sure they will be). As I said, the Christmas tree a symbol enjoyed not only by Christians but by very many non-Christians as well. Everybody who enjoys some traditional notion of Christmas as celebrated in the United States, either Christian or secular, should be upset. And that is still most Americans.

To ban Christmas trees is like banning, not “Joy to the World,” but “White Christmas”.
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No one’s banning christmas trees. Just keep them out of airports and public buildings. I’m sure you get a lot of joy from your christmas tree, but I think your belief that the rest of the nonchristian world loves christmas trees is a bit overstated.
 
Valke2 said:
No one’s banning christmas trees. Just keep them out of airports and public buildings. I’m sure you get a lot of joy from your christmas tree, but I think your belief that the rest of the nonchristian world loves christmas trees is a bit overstated.
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Then, would you say the deferal holiday should be taken away?
 
Valke2 said:
No one’s banning christmas trees. Just keep them out of airports and public buildings. I’m sure you get a lot of joy from your christmas tree, but I think your belief that the rest of the nonchristian world loves christmas trees is a bit overstated.
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You can shrug it off if you like, but people will see this as another assault, not just on Christianity, but on “the way it used to be, and the way I want it to be for my kids and grandkids.”

The rabbi’s lawyer gets it exactly right: “There is a concern here that the Jewish community will be portrayed as the Grinch.”
 
Valke2 said:
No one’s banning christmas trees. Just keep them out of airports and public buildings. I’m sure you get a lot of joy from your christmas tree, but I think your belief that the rest of the nonchristian world loves christmas trees is a bit overstated.
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Guess I must have missed something. Since when did the Christmas tree become a religious symbol? A Christmas tree with a creche under it–yes. A plain tree–absolutely not. There are too many people of other religions and even atheists who put up Christmas trees. I am sure they don’t consider it a religious symbol. PC has gone way too far for way too long.
 
When I was in high school, back in the dinosaur ages of school prayer, we had a Christmas nativity play each year, sang Christmas carols as a choir to the entire school and went on Christmas Vacation and Easter vacation.
We also sang the Dreidel song as a choir, had a mennorrah in the lobby, honored Passover each year with a student who would stand up in assembly and tell the story of it. and no complaints from anyone. Fully 1/3 of my high school was Jewish.
We all just got along!
 
VociMike said:
You can shrug it off if you like, but people will see this as another assault, not just on Christianity
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towardtradition.org/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=50
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Jews Strive to Restore Sea-Tac Airport’s Christmas Trees
Well here we go again. It is so utterly predictable. Like clockwork. It’s December and time for another skirmish in the annual battle against Christmas. What compels me to comment is that this time it’s not the usual secular fanatic who’s responsible for doing things that evict Christianity from the culture. No, on this sad and alarming occasion it’s a deeply religious, well-intentioned rabbi who has unwittingly stumbled into a situation that will place his denomination (and mine) -Orthodox Judaism - in a terrible, negative light.
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while this may not of been the outcome he (the rabbi) wanted it is what he got…I do find it interesting that a large group of orthodox jews is offering their time and services to RESTORE the trees at Sea-Tac…
 
mary_bobo said:
There are too many people of other religions and even atheists who put up Christmas trees. I am sure they don’t consider it a religious symbol.
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Its a symbol for a holiday that is rooted in Christianity, although much of how Americans celebrate Christmas has little to do with religion.
 
M-Dent said:
towardtradition.org/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=50

Jews Strive to Restore Sea-Tac Airport’s Christmas Trees
Well here we go again. It is so utterly predictable. Like clockwork. It’s December and time for another skirmish in the annual battle against Christmas. What compels me to comment is that this time it’s not the usual secular fanatic who’s responsible for doing things that evict Christianity from the culture. No, on this sad and alarming occasion it’s a deeply religious, well-intentioned rabbi who has unwittingly stumbled into a situation that will place his denomination (and mine) -Orthodox Judaism - in a terrible, negative light.
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The essay that you posted could not be a more accurate representation of my feelings. I love the Jewish faith, I love Jews, I love Israel. That it why it hurts so much when we are attacked by Jews.
 
Tom317 said:
It is our own fault. We have collectively sat by as the nation has grown increasingly secular and more-and-more hostile to Christ. We should not be surprised.
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Whatever. I do not belive Christ was the son of God. Yet I still love Christmas trees, and I am not happy about the Seattle airport removing them. As was said earlier, a Christmas tree is a secular symbol.
 
WenckebachCath said:
Somehow, it feels like non-Christians are trying to dismantle our cherished cultural traditions in this nation. What do you people think of this case?

foxnews.com/story/0,2933,235737,00.html

For more than 25 years, the airport has celebrated the holidays with Christmas trees over its entrances. But overnight, the Port of Seattle ordered all 15 trees removed.

The Port allowed “holiday” decorations to remain but decided to take down all the Christmas trees after a Seattle rabbi complained they were offensive.

The Port of Seattle says it had little choice. It says the Seattle rabbi with the Central Organization for Jewish Learning hired a lawyer and threatened to sue if the airport did not erect an eight-foot menorah to balance the message of the Christmas trees.
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Last Christmas the lord mayor of Sydney (Australia). Went on one of these Anti _Christian “crusades”. And banned all Christmas decorations from Public buildings. Thankfully there was such a uproar from the public and radio/tv. personalities (even the ones who are Athiest) that this year she has done a complete 360*, and the city buildings are now adorned with lights and decorations
 
My opinion of this Rabbi has gone up. It seems that he is a reasonable and thoughtful man. Unfortunately when someone offends public sentiments to this extreme, there are some angry lowlifes who will send cowardly death threats. I think it’s neat that the Jewish community wants to pitch in to restore the trees. That’s very gracious of them. 👍
 
why do jews complain about christmas?? more disturbing is why we listen to these complainers. most americans are christian and most celebrate christmas and not chanukah. why would they expect us to catter to them when jews are only 2% of the population.

this is equivelent to catholics complaining in isreal about some jewish holiday display, or in mecca about some islamic holy day. why are we americans so stupid.
 
Mac6yver said:
Whatever. I do not belive Christ was the son of God. Yet I still love Christmas trees, and I am not happy about the Seattle airport removing them. As was said earlier, a Christmas tree is a secular symbol.
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Christmas is a religious holiday even if secularists deny that. If Christ had not been born, and if people did not follow Christ, then there would be no Christmas to celebrate. It is beyond ridiculous imo that people of the modern world want to say Christmas is not a religious holiday.

There would be no “United States” and no freedoms in this country if Christianity did not exist.
 
Dee_Dee_King said:
why do jews complain about christmas?? more disturbing is why we listen to these complainers. most americans are christian and most celebrate christmas and not chanukah. why would they expect us to catter to them when jews are only 2% of the population.

this is equivelent to catholics complaining in isreal about some jewish holiday display, or in mecca about some islamic holy day. why are we americans so stupid.
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might makes right?
 
Valke2 said:
How so?
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Christianity was the force behind forming Europe, Europeans formed the United States…that is the simple answer. Take away Christ, you take away Europe as we know it and you take away the United States.
 
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